Bevacizumab-induced tumor calcifications as a surrogate marker of outcome in patients with glioblastoma.

ABSTRACT: Therapy-induced calcifications in glioblastoma are rarely recognized. They may represent regressive changes in the tumor tissue, but their occurrence and possible predictive or prognostic value have not been systematically assessed. The observation of hyperintense lesions on precontrast T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRIs) in 2 index patients with glioblastoma after therapy with bevacizumab, subsequently identified as calcifications on computed tomographs (CTs), prompted us to prospectively screen for these radiographic changes. Therefore, 36 patients with recurrent glioblastoma prospectively treated with bevacizumab in an observational trial were examined every 8 weeks by MRI and, if clinically necessary, by CT. In 22 patients (61.1%), T1 hyperintense lesions became apparent after

SUBMITTER: Bahr O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3158018 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature